Hello! I am here again. Just be reminded that I am updating my stories twice a week, depending of the allotted time given to me every morning. But I assure you, I will definitely update my story weekly. So please don't forget to check it. Read my other stories if you have time to do so. The next chapter is on. Please enjoy. ^_^
DISCLAIMER: I do not own POT. I just love the Prince of tennis.
Chapter 4: A New Rival
Chapter Summary: He was determined while he was feigning. She was facing the current danger in her life. Everything was in a slight chaos where everything revolves around her. Find out.
The voice of the tennis tensai echoed in the four corners of the court. It was weak but it made a slight vibration that only the two of them could hear.
"I like Sakuno-chan and this time, I AM going to steal her away from you." Fuji declared with the seriousness in his eyes that staring at him, he continued:
"For real…."
Ryoma remained silent as he flinched a little. He unconsciously gripped his racket in his right hand that Fuji didn't notice.
They stared at each other for a long until Ryoma turned around and said:
"Do what you like."
"I am serious; I am not giving her to you." Fuji warned him.
Ryoma just continued walking to the bench and packed his things up. He fixed his fila hat before leaving the court without looking at his senpai.
Fuji just stared at the boy. It was not supposed to be like this but it was Ryoma himself who opened a path for him. Now that the path is open he will enter it without hesitation and eager to know where it will lead him. He just hoped that it will lead to her.
"You asked for it, so don't regret it." He said nonchalantly.
xxx
She was on her way to the cooking club to return some cooking materials that she borrowed. Her mind was totally confused and disturbed. A lot of things happened and she doesn't know which she should solve first. Trouble comes second in her dictionary for it never leaved her no matter how hard she tried to do it. She was in the deep thought that she realized that she was not familiar in that place.
Oh great! She thought. She was lost again. Why does this school has to be this big? She thought as she was looking for her way to the club. She found some girls in the hallway and asked for a direction.
"You are Ryuzaki-san, right?" the girl with the wavy hair asked her.
"H-hai."
The girls looked at each other. Sakuno wondered but felt a little worried. Then the girl with two pigtails said:
"We will show you the way, come with us." And then they walked ahead of her. She hesitated at first but she followed them afterwards. They went to a place that somewhat familiar to her but she knew that it isn't the club she was looking for.
"Here we are." The girl with the wavy hair said opening the door.
Sakuno reluctantly peaked at the door. It was not the cooking club. "T-this is the art club, I was-"
She couldn't continue her words because the girl pushed her inside that made her fall together with the cooking materials that she carried. The door was shut hard and she heard the 'click' sound. She panicked as she began to stand up and walked to the door.
"O-open the door, please." Sakuno pleaded.
She heard the girls wickedly laughed. "That was the stupidest trick I've ever done."
"Yeah, you are right, and to think that a certain Ryuzaki-san fell for it. You really are stupid." The other girl said.
"Too bad, that no one's gonna save you there. Your senpais are all busy with their practice that they won't notice a single cheerer is missing." The girl with pigtails retorted.
"L-let me out of here." She cried.
"This place is isolated. Since there's no art class today, students rarely go to this hallway. So good luck if someone will spot you here."
She heard them laugh hard as they started to leave the place. She banged the door as hard as she could but no one heard her. She leaned her forehead on the door as she started to cry. She was so easy to deceive. She was trapped again and she doesn't know how to escape. She thought of her senpais. Ryoma-kun she verbalize the name in her mind. She snapped her eyes open. She was not in good condition with the prince and didn't she decide that she will not ask help for anyone, especially the senpais. She wiped her tears as she started to look for a way to get out. She looked on top of the door. There was a small opening but it was too high to reach. She was smart enough to do something. She gathered all the tables and chairs to reach the opening.
This will not gonna stop me. She thought as she reached the top. It was pretty high but she was not that worried. She took a deep breath before jumping. She jumped successfully but the landing was not. The impact was wrong when her feet touched the ground. She made a fall where she tripped in her own right foot. She made it out but when she tried to stand up, she felt a terrible pain in her right foot. She sat up again. Pain can be seen in her face when she massaged her foot. She gasped for the sensation. She leaned on the door, looking up the window.
I barely made it, but not really… She thought as she slowly joined her knees together in front of her and bowed there with her arms crossed. I don't like this.
xxx
He was walking in the hallway while drinking his ponta. It was lunch time and he was just finished eating his lunch. He emptied his ponta and threw the can outside. He didn't stay at the rooftop for long. He doesn't want to think so he left the rooftop early. Although he tried to avoid it as much as he can, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He tried to forget it but it was useless. He was pissed because of that. He decided to go back to his class when he heard some girls talking nearby:
"I bet she's crying now." The girl giggled.
"Yeah, I can't believe they did that to her. No one's gonna save her until later." The girl with short black hair said.
"To think that losing her way inside the school, I can't imagine how stupid she is."
Ryoma flinched when he heard that. He exposed himself to them and said. "To talk about someone behind their back is stupider, don't you think so?"
The girls were shocked as they saw him. His glare was shocking that they couldn't stare at him. "I-I'm sorry" the girl said as they started to run.
Ryoma sighed. He walked to the opposite direction of his class. The conversation of the girls bewildered him. He was certain that he knew the girl they were talking about. He only knew one girl who has no sense of directions. And he was right, he saw her there, crouching in front of the art club door. He went near her and felt something was wrong.
"Ryuzaki."
The girl was surprised as she recognized his voice.
"R-ryoma-kun. W-what are you doing here?" She asked him.
"I heard some girls talking about a girl with no sense of directions so I thought it was you." Ryoma said as he stood in front of her.
She pouted. "I know, I'm sorry for being one." He noticed that she was hiding something.
"What's the matter? He said bluntly.
"N-nothing?" She moved her right foot and that didn't escape his cat-like eyes.
He crouched in front of her that made her shocked a little. He stared at her right foot.
"It's swollen, how did you injure yourself?" He said as he began to touch her foot.
She uttered a pain sound. "D-don't touch it, p-please."
He looked at her and then at the back of the door. He analyzed the possible event that happened earlier. "You jumped from the top, aren't you?" he asked.
She didn't say a thing.
"Stupid."
"I-I'm sorry for being stupid."
"This is bad; I can't do it with my first aid thing that I carry everyday." He turned around to Sakuno. Facing his back, she wondered. "Here." he said offering his back.
She understood what he meant. So she blushed a lot. "T-Thank you, R-ryoma- kun b-but I am fine."
Ryoma knew that she would say that. With no further ado, he grabbed her arms and put them on top of his shoulder and he grabbed both the back of her knees as he began to stand up.
Sakuno was surprised on his actions. "R-Ryoma-kun…"
"You are not good at lying. So just shut up." He said keeping his stoic face.
Sakuno gripped her hand on his shoulder a little hard. He felt that she was trembling a bit. "T-thank you."
They didn't say a word until they reach the nurse's office. The doctor examined her foot. She said that she sprained her foot badly and needed to rest for two weeks. She needed a proper rest and the doctor strongly recommended that she wouldn't push herself from walking or else something worse might happen. Sakuno was sad about the result. She didn't have a choice but to follow. It was only for two weeks anyway. Later on the regulars and the coach visited her in the room when they learned the news.
"What happened?" Sumire went near her as she touched her cheek.
"She jumped from the upper opening of the door when someone locked her inside the art club." Ryoma said straightforwardly.
"Who did this to you, Sakuno?" Fuji asked the girl.
"D-don't worry, Senpai. I'I-m not badly injured. I only need to rest for two weeks."
Sakuno was shocked when fuji suddenly held her hand despite that Sumire was in front of them. Ryoma frowned when he saw that. "And I told that I'm gonna protect you. I'm sorry." She can see the sad look in his eyes.
"F-fuji-senpai, it-it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself please."
"We should do something, about this." The mother hen said.
"There will be 80% that we will find the culprit." Inui said as he started writing down some notes on his notebook.
"I'm not going to forgive the person who injured our precious Ryuzaki-chan." Eiji said showing a raging aura on him.
"Don't worry, Ryuzaki-chan, we will help you. Don't keep your problems to yourself; we're your brothers here." Oishi added.
"Yeah, he's right." Momo and Kaidoh said at the same time. The 'frenemies' looked at each other as if agreeing for a reason that rarely happened to both of them. They shifted their looks after giving grumpy faces to each other.
Kawamura was swinging his racket hardly that made everyone panic. The room was small that they needed to calm him down.
Tezuka was watching them as he pushed his eyeglasses back. He was also furious inside.
Sakuno was somehow sad. She was being protected once again by her senpais. She didn't want to rely on them but she thought that she couldn't hide her problems to them forever.
"Sakuno, dear. We're here, remember that." Sumire said.
Fuji pressed her hand gently. She felt security when he did that. She blushed still. "T-thank you, everyone." She closed her eyes.
A certain cat-like eyes boy remained silent as he watched the scene. He was relieved and pissed at the same time. Relieved that the injury was nothing serious and pissed of the fact the way he stared at her was gently and loving. He fixed his fila hat to hide his irritation. But Inui noticed that and started writing more on his notebook. This is getting more interesting. The data collector smirked after that.
One week Passed:
She was bored at home, despite the warnings of her grandmother she went outside on a Sunday morning using one crutch to assist her from walking. She promised that she won't do anything. She ended up in tennis grounds. She remembered something:
"Girls tennis competition is approaching. I need to practice soon, too." She said as she started to touch the bar that holds the net between two opponents. She thought of joining the team for the first time. She was always supporting her team but this time, she will join the competition. It was the school's tournament and a part of the school festival after all.
"I believe that you should be resting now."
She flinched when someone spoke. She turned around to see who it was. Fuji was standing at the edge of the court holding a tennis bag in his back.
"Fuji-senpai, w-what are you doing here?" It was too late to ask the question which was very obvious.
Fuji laughed on her question. "What do you think that I'm doing here? Practice of course, silly."
"S-sorry…" Sakuno blushed. She walked towards him but he halted her from walking. Instead Fuji came towards her. To her surprised, he carried her like a baby. She turned bright red.
"S-senpai, p-put me down, Please." Sakuno shyly said to him. She remembered how a certain prince carried her in his back. It was different the way Fuji was carrying her now but the piggyback ride sure gave her a strange impact.
"Not until we reach a bench." He said as he walked towards a bench near them. Sakuno was still blushing when he put her down there. Fuji sat beside her. "Is your foot okay? He asked her.
She nodded. "I-It is healing, thank you for the compress that my g-grandmother was applying that the pain was subsiding little by little and t-the medicine that I take everyday." She explained.
"That's good then." Fuji said and then he looked at a distance.
"T-tomoka-chan always comes to visit and check up on me. S-she always gives notes everyday so that I won't need to c-catch up with my studies." She added.
"It is good to have a best friend, isn't it?" Even though she's loud. He laughed on the last thought.
Sakuno noticed that. "S-senpai, y-you're thinking something about Tomoka-chan, aren't you?" She went closer to her senpai.
"What makes you say that? I am thinking nothing. Anyway let's change the topic. We found out who was the culprit. They were second year level students. Thanks to Inui's data analysis that it was easy to find who they were."
"I-I see, please don't be so hard on them. They are just admiring someone." Sakuno pleaded.
Fuji stared at her for a long time and sighed afterwards. "That's actually the reason why I like you a lot."
"E-eh?" Sakuno blinked her eyes twice.
"You heard me, loud and clear." Fuji became serious as he stared at her.
Sakuno blushed at her senpai's confession. She averted her eyes since she couldn't stare at him for a long time. "S-senpai, I-I know that you love teasing me and t-the others but please d-don't tease me like that."
Fuji held both of her hands and squeezed them gently. He felt that her hands were cold. "I am not kidding about my feelings, Sakuno-chan. I am dead serious about you."
Sakuno's eyes became widen. She didn't know what to say. She could feel her heart was beating so fast. It was her first time that someone confessed to her. It would be more awkward if the prince of her dreams would actually do the same thing. But it was so good to be true. Close to impossible to be precise.
Fuji shifted his one hand to her cheek. She was surprised on his actions. He said:
"Well, I am not expecting an answer right away. I know that you were currently brokenhearted and still adjusting from it. But I can help you to move on, if you just let me." Fuji said staring at her confused eyes.
"B-but I—"
"Don't confuse yourself, I am just telling you that try to shift your attention once in a while and decide which you should follow."
"F-fuji-senpai."
"I felt confessing to you because I want you to know my feelings. And I won't give up especially not to him."
Sakuno blushed more. She shifted her eyes and looked down. She doesn't know how to respond to him. It was so sudden. Fuji let go of her hand and her cheek. He stood up and walked a little far.
"Well, I've said my words. But it's all up to you. If you give me a chance, I won't hurt you and I won't let you cry, like he did. And I will definitely protect you from those people who will try to harm you." Fuji said.
Sakuno looked at his back. She gripped her one hand in front of her chest. She couldn't say anything but his name.
"That's all. I better go now before I let myself stay here for a while and ask you to carry you back to your home. I will practice somewhere. Think about it carefully. I'll see you next week." Fuji said as he waved his hand while walking away.
Sakuno remained silent. Fuji was long gone but his words were still absorbing to her mind. His senpai likes her. She couldn't believe that it was impossible. Is she still dreaming? She pinched her cheek hard. She created a pain sound. It was indeed real. She panicked. She stood up with her crutch and walked to exit the court. She was absorbed in deep thought.
"I should've…..followed Obaa-chan's advice…" She thought of herself. She went home flushing red all over her face.
Monday, next morning:
Ryoma was a bit surprised to see Fuji was earlier than him that morning. He was practicing his tennis in front of the wall. He was serious while returning the ball to the wall. He noticed his presence and stopped for a while.
"Sorry for stealing your spot." He said and gave the prince a smirk.
Ryoma walked towards a bench and put his bag on it. "Anyone can practice; it's not my spot alone." He said abruptly.
Fuji stared at the boy while the boy was tying his shoelaces on his shoes.
"Echizen! Let's have a match." Fuji said.
Ryoma gave his senpai a smirked. "It is indeed boring to face the wall." He said.
The two position themselves. Ryoma served first. He dribbled the ball a few times before hitting it. Fuji returned the ball to him. They kept their pace intact and keeping the ball returned to each other. Fuji scored first.
15-0.
"It's that all you've got?" Fuji smirked.
"You haven't seen my skills yet." Ryoma replied with a mocking smile.
They continued the game. It lasted for a long time that the other regulars arrived and saw them having a match.
"Woah, it was very rare to see them having a match." Momoshiro said.
"Ochibi, was serious and so as Fuji." Eiji said leaning on the fences.
"Let's see how it will end. It looks like they started the match from a long time." Inui said starting to write on his notbebook. "It will be 98% that Echizen will lose the game."
"What makes you say that?" Kaidoh couldn't help but asked.
"You'll see." He said as he fixed his glasses.
The game continued to the last set. It was a close set. Ryoma used his twist serve to Fuji but he returned the hit amazingly. Ryoma followed the direction of the ball.
"I have done the first step, Echizen."
Ryoma was almost lost from hitting the ball back. He was able to return it. He looked at his senpai curiously. Fuji returned the ball while saying his words:
"I have confessed to Sakuno-chan yesterday." Fuji smirked.
Ryoma's eyes became widened. He jerked when he heard that. He wasn't able to return the ball that runs on the ground without bouncing. It was Fuji's Tsubame Gaeshi.
"6 games to 5, Game set and match, I win." Fuji smirked.
Everyone was surprised. No one blinked an eye until Eiji said something:
"Fuji sure was tricky, to think that he used that tactic." Eiji said.
"I say it was a 100% that Fuji was actually saying the truth." Inui said writing on his notebook.
Silence was created between them and there was a delayed reaction."EH?" Everyone reacted.
"Seriously?" Momoshiro retorted.
Inui nodded. Everyone looked at each other and then, to the two regulars who were just playing. Ryoma was a bit shocked. But he didn't know which of the reasons: He lost or about Fuji's confession. He gripped his racket hard. He looked at Fuji and he saw the seriousness in his eyes. He fixed his fila hat and then walked away from the court. He waved his hand and said: "Nice game."
"hmmm, Ochibi has a rival now. This is interesting." Eiji said.
"I thought that you didn't like the way Fuji was teasing her." Oishi asked him.
"Yeah, but I want to see what Ochibi is going to do. I know that Fuji won't do anything to hurt Ryuzaki-chan." He defended the tennis tensai.
"Maybe, you are right."
They saw Ryoma leaving the court. They noticed that so he told them that he was going to his room.
"Echizen was a bit down, do you think that he's…" Momo said.
"Probably, he is just not so honest to himself." Inui said.
"He will lose Ryuzaki-chan, if he always acts like that." Kawamura said.
Fuji sighed big. He entered a big problem but he will definitely solve this problem that he is having. He will prove to everyone that he is serious about her, his coach's granddaughter. If Ryoma won't do anything then he will fill what he should be doing.
xxx
Ryoma sat on his chair. It was still early but his mind was not there. He's bothered though he won't admit it. He was furious about the revelation he heard. Did he regret about rejecting her? His eyes were snapped open. He then shook his head hardly. It was impossible, definitely impossible. He tried to sleep and luckily he did.
One week passed:
"Welcome back, Sakuno-chan!" Tomoka welcome her with a tight hug. She couldn't visit her this past week because of some babysitting job. They were now in their classroom. "And you are really more than meets the eye, huh."
"T-thank you but what do you m-mean?" she asked even though she has the hint what her best friend was supposed to say.
"Fuji-senpai confessed to you." Tomoka said not worried about her classmates were actually looking at their direction.
"T-tomoka-chan, please lower your voice." Sakuno warned her best friend. She turned red.
"But you know what? Ryoma-sama learned that while having a match and lost the game at the same time."
Sakuno was shocked. So he knew. She blushed more. Everything was a bit complicated now. She didn't have the chance to reply because their homeroom teacher appeared already.
xxx
She should've known that news before. But because her best friend wasn't able to come and visit her, and find time to call her, she was worried now. Her foot was doing fine and she can practice her tennis again. She knew the value that if there is an aim that you want to fulfill, you will definitely strive to reach it. She just couldn't do the same thing to Ryoma and that wonders her. She was in a deep thought that she wasn't aware about the danger coming to her. A flower pot above her was shaking and lost its position. It fell fast towards the no-idea-girl. To her surprised, someone grabbed her arm and they fell back. She closed her eyes in an instant and only to open them when she heard the breaking sound of the pot. She was frightened when she saw that.
"Are you alright?"
She looked at her savior who was none other than fuji. "F-fuji senpai." She gripped his sleeve hard and then she looked at the pot once again. "W-what is really happening? T-they want me….dead." she felt horrible on the thought.
"Don't worry, I won't let that happen. I promised you, didn't I?" Fuji assured her while hugging her tightly.
She almost cried. She just came back from school and an incident happened like this. She heard the murmurs of the students around them but she doesn't care about that. She forgot what the condition that was happening between Fuji and her. For the meantime, she needs someone to cling to, have the courage to gather. And Fuji was the only person there. She closed her eyes tightly.
From their location, there was a pair of cat-like eyes who was watching at a distance. He clenched both of his fists and staring accusingly at them. Not taking the scene anymore, he left the location.
xxx
The bullying and treating continues for a couple of days. There were times that someone wrote
'ILLUSIONIST IDIOT' in her desk, tore off her notes, and anything else. She was also worried when she received a letter saying: You're best friend will be in trouble if you keep relying on your senpais from the tennis club. She was frightened that she didn't tell her senpais anything. She shut herself up saying that she was not bullied anymore. To keep herself from trouble especially for Tomoka, she decided to eat every lunch alone, using going home to eat as an Alibi. Tomoka somewhat believed that. But the truth was after her best friend left to cafeteria, she secrectly sneaked herself to the rooftop, a completely different from Ryoma's location. She sat on the floor and started eating. She was thinking a lot of things that she didn't notice that she stopped eating.
"You are not touching your food."
She flinched when she heard his voice. "R-ryoma-kun." She wondered how he found her there. The boy was standing beside him with both of his hands were in his pocket.
"I saw you here a couple of times from the top." He explained as he read her mind. "Why are you eating here alone?" the boy asked her.
She looked down. "B-Because, I-I just felt like eating here, I-"She stopped talking when she saw him giving her a serious stern look.
"I told you before, you are not good at lying so quit it."
She was shut silent. She didn't know what to say.
"It has something to do with the bullying isn't it?"
She looked up to him with her eyes widened. The boy looked at her with a stoic face.
"Can't you find the words to say? Why do you always keep your problems to yourself?" Ryoma was somewhat surprised on his own words. Did he really say that? Wasn't he doing the same thing? He composed himself and getting out the thought in his system. "Stop being so stupid."
"W-why can't you say that to yourself b-before telling that to someone? Y-you don't understand anything." Sakuno stood up and started to run away leaving the bento on the floor.
Ryoma was left shocked. That was the first time she said something like that to him. He saw the tears came to her eyes as she started to run. He clenched his hands after that.
xxx
She ran and went outside the school. She doesn't want to see anyone. Not her best friend, the regulars, Fuji and even Ryoma. For the first time, she needed to be alone. She found the park and the best place to become sentimental for a while. She sat on the swing there and started to cry. Everything was hard for her. No matter how hard she tried to ask to help, she can not do it. She doesn't want to rely to anyone after all.
"Ryuzaki!"
She looked at the person who called her. She was not surprised unlike the previous days. It was the five girls who first confronted her. She knew that it was them who were bullying her. With her crying tears she spoke:
"H-haven't you enough bullying me for the day? Give me a b-break please."
"What a request! Haha! what a laugh! We will never get satisfied bullying you." The girl with the long hair spoke.
"I did everything you said; I even avoided my best friend. What else do you want?" She asked.
"Not quite, my dear, you haven't done everything yet." She said.
"What d-do you mean?"
"There's one thing that you haven't given up yet." The girl with pigtails said.
"W-what are you trying to say?" She was nervous about asking it.
"I want you to quit tennis." The girl with the long hair said.
Sakuno's eyes became widen. "W-what?"
"Quit tennis and we will stop bullying you."
The eerie between them became tenser. The girls smirked while the innocent girl was quietly crying. Her mind was not working properly at that moment.
I am done again. Fuji just confessed and everything went into chaos. What do you think of this chapter? I need to know. Thank you very much.
Review Please! I am also accepting late reviews and don't worry, I will definitely reply to all of you. ^_^
Daisuki minna!
Next Chapter: Arashi no Yokan (Premonition of the storm version 1)